A Peek Into Last Week (September 24-30)~

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authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

Another week has just flowwwn by me! I am flabbergasted that October is upon us already. We are coming into my favorite seasons, fall and winter, when we finally get a reprieve from the suffocating heat and humidity. 

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.” 

~John Sinor

And before I go any further, I want to extend my prayers to all who are suffering from the devastating effects of Ian. Living in a hurricane prone area, I totally feel your pain, helplessness and overwhelm. 🙏

Homekeeping ~

This past week's homekeeping focus was the storage and/or laundry room. As I consider our garage to be an area of storage, I spent some time assessing my gardening equipment and cleaning and tidying the area where it is all kept. 

I also took the time to shine up my kitchen sink, and since it is such a fleeting victory (😉😄), decided to take a picture, so it would last longer~haha!

ain't she purdy?!

While I am on the subject, I don't want to give the impression that I am trying to come off as a "super homemaker". Farrrr from it. I deal constantly with fatigue and, what I consider to be a low level of depression,  or "the blues" as I like to call it. It has been a constant struggle for me since my husband had his stroke ten years ago and we were sent home with no manual as to how to navigate our "new normal". It was much, much harder the first few years, and I am finally at a more manageable place but I still have days where I only get the absolute minimum done in order to keep the state of our home down to a "dull roar". Not because that's what I want, but because that is what I am capable of. I say all this, not to gain sympathy, only to clarify. I have "zones" (ala the Flylady) to help keep me moving forward with my housekeeping, rather than being stagnant or falling completely behind. So, I like to focus on little projects or cleaning jobs in the different zones that go beyond the everyday cleaning tasks in order not end up on the next episode of Hoarders, 😆. Even if I spend only a total of five extra minutes for the whole week accomplishing one of those housekeeping goals, it still gives me a sense of accomplishment and encouragement. 

In this fast paced, show-only-your-"Instagram worthy"-ness world we live in, I must confess it is not easy for me to admit all of that, but it is my reality. And my hope is to be "real" with you.

Moving on, lol...

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

I baked another two full pans of chicken leg quarters, (quickly seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder and salt & pepper) to have for easy, heat & eat dinners. I also threw in a foil wrapped sweet potato to cook alongside the chicken for hubby's dinner one night (I'm sure I've mentioned it before but he and I are on two different wavelengths when it comes to meals, the kind and the timing of them). I came upon two ten pound bags of chicken leg quarters, week before last, marked down to .29 a pound so I brought them home, divided them up and froze them. Plus, hubby has been content with sandwiches (ham and cheese, pb&j-he's pretty easy to please) on other nights.

I am trying to lower my consumption of sugar (I have not one but many sweet teeth) for my health and mood, so I haven't been baking, other than bread for the hubs. Because of this, and since I do have a ravenous appetite for sweets, I have made sugar free versions of fresh lemonade, whipped no bake "cheesecake", chocolate mousse and a faux chocolate crustless "pie": sugar free, fat free chocolate pudding (boxed instant Jello) with zero sugar whipped topping (Cool Whip) since chocolate pie is one of my all time favorite kinds of pie (thanks to my great grandmother "Ma" (pronounced Maw-RIP) who made a mean chocolate merengue pie, and who contributed to the delinquency of a little sugar addict chocoholic piggy 🐷🙋‍♀️. The cool whipped topped instant chocolate pudding is as close as you're gonna get this girl to making a merengue pie😁.). 

What I'm watching/reading ~

The Into the Night series on Netflix. 

The Netflix site describes it as, "Passengers and crew aboard a hijacked overnight flight scramble to outrace the sun as a mysterious cosmic event wreaks havoc on the world below."

I describe it as, gripping.🤯

Well y'all that's about it for me this week. I hope you all had a good one. See you next time annnnd...

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

PS~ the Bar Keepers Friend is not sponsored and this is not an ad for it. I just love using it!(my savvier-than-her-mama daughter has told me I need to always make that clear, lol)